Audio-visual targeting reflex in cats deprived of pattern vision from birth.

It is well known that visually guided behavior is impaired in visually deprived cats. In particular, visual discrimination learning is strongly affected. In an earlier paper prepared in this Laboratory (2) such deficit was observed in cats visually deprived by means of linen hoods, which prevented pattern vision. In the present paper the targeting (orienting) reflex evoked by a sound from a visible loudspeaker was studied in hoodreared cats. The reflex consisted of movement of the pinnas, eyes and head towards the loudspeaker (1). Twelve hood-reared cats and eight normally reared controls were used. All cats were bred in the Laboratory and aged from 6 to 8 mo.